Goblin

The first rays of the sun were already becoming bright, the blackness of the sky was being engulfed by blue and yellow of the horizon.. As the sun was rising from beneath the ocean, the moon was beginning to lower into the other side, and the stars became dim and dim until they completely disappeared..

A speckle of deep purple was soaring through the sky, flying away from the island from which he had awakened after a long, cold slumber. Spikes ran down his back, sharp enough to cut with the slightest abrasion. He looked like a slim, medium-sized Thunderdrum, with the head of a Deadly Nadder and locomotion of a Monstrous Nightmare mixed together. He was one of the most feared and rare dragons in the whole world, second only to the Night Fury. His very name could send shivers down the bravest men's spines, his very presence could send Monstrous Nightmare away whining like hatchlings and his roar sent every living being rushing into their homes, looking for shelter.

He was a Skrill.

He had woken up from slumber not too long ago, he estimated about a few hours, and when he looked around he realized he was not in the familiar, lush green island grounds, but in a gray, stone-cold area. He tried to fly away, but something similar to a net made out of metal sent him plummeting to the ground, his body cackling with electricity. He was surrounded by a Monstrous Nightmare, Hideous Zippleback, Gronckle and, surprisingly, a Night Fury. They all told him to calm down, that everything was going to be fine, but how could he believe them when humans surrounded them? Even the Monstrous Nightmare had a human on his back, not with any weapons or form of control over him.

Prey of panic, he fled, this time towards what appeared to be an entrance. The Deadly Nadder tried to stop him, but he shoved her away –in his terror he crossed the line and violently pushed her aside with his wing- before flying away into the darkness of the night. That was a few hours ago, and right now he was heading towards the island that had seen him being born, where he and his mate had their first clutch of eggs. He did not know how much time he had been asleep, but he hoped she would still be there, and their hatchlings would probably have been born by then.

Skrill's mood lightly went up when he spotted the familiar tree-field giant rock that was his home. He flared his powerful wings and braked in mid-air, letting out a call - the mating call he and his beloved mate share-, and waited for a few minutes for her to call back.

Nothing.

Confused, he calls once more, but there was no reply. Wasn't she home? Or maybe she was still sleeping, and didn't hear his call. Skrill flew down towards the island, looking for the cave his mate had found to make their nest. Most of the trees still had their patches of leaves intact, there hadn't been so much changes ever since he last left. Finally, he found it.

The cave they had chosen was located at the side of a cove's bottom, conveniently with a small lake and a few rocks from where they could sharpen their claws. He remembered he would often awake before his mate and catch one or two fish for her in the pond, so that she would allow him to copulate with her.

Skrill landed inside the cove and once more called out for his mate, once more with no reply. He started to worry, what if she thought he would not come back and had left? What if she had taken their hatchlings with her? He couldn't even remember what had happened; all he had were blurs and flashes, faint memories of a battle before everything went black.

A feeling of dread started to engulf him as he slowly walked towards the cavern's interior. He had a bad feeling about this, if she was asleep she would have already heard his call from this close. He was starting to fear she had actually left, and with her, their hatchlings.

Something crunched beneath his talons.

Skrill looked down to shake it off, but what he saw startled him. He had stepped on a pile of bones, a tiny skeleton, the size of a tomcat. He looked around, and found pieces of egg shells scattered around him.

No.

He looked towards the end of the cave, and what he saw nearly gave him a heart attack.

No!

Upon a nest made out of straw and long-rotten leaves, there was the skeleton of a full-grown Skrill surrounded by tiny piles of bones and eggshell pieces similar to the one he had just stepped on.

NO!

Skrill quickly rushed towards the nest, refusing to believe what he was seeing, praying to whoever lived in the heavens that this was not real, that it was a horrible nightmare, that he was still frozen inside that ice block.

Yet something told him this was real, and that he was not dreaming. Skrill slowly reached out to touch the skull of the large set of bones that was once his loving mate with his snout, like it would bring her back to him. How much time had he been frozen…? Judging by this, he had been frozen for various decades.

If he were human, he would be crying, but a dragon could shed no tears. All he could do to mourn for his long-gone family was to let out a piercing, heart-wrenching wail, his own heart cracking by the second; the roar echoed momentarily in the cave, before everything was silent once more. With a shattered heart, Skrill laid down in the nest, next to his deceased mate and children. He had nothing left to live for; maybe if he remained there with her, he would starve himself to death and join them sooner. But no, he knew his race could survive months with no food; he did remain alive for all those years inside a giant iceberg, didn't he? In the very least, he would stay with her. His eyelids started to feel heavy, his vision became blurry, and he was overcome by slumber.

He dreamt he was with them.

His dear mate was cuddled against him, the two staring lovingly at a clutch of seven eggs at their side, waiting for the day the little hatchlings would break out of their shells. He could already see them playing around the cave, nibbling on anything they found or climbing unto him to nibble on his spines. He could see his mate and himself regurgitating their catch of sheep gotten from human islands and the fish caught in the ocean or in the cove's pond. He could see himself teaching them how to hunt and fly, and he could see them growing up to become powerful Skrills like them. He could see them flying away to make their own lives, as he and his mate sadly watched them go, before they copulated again and the cycle began once more.

With a yawn, he rested his head on the nest before closing his eyes…

Skrill opened his eyes when he heard sounds outside his cave. His body instinctively cackled with electricity in case it was an enemy; a dragon seeking shelter or simply to drive him away form the island. But he would not leave the memory of his family at the mercy of a stranger; he'd die before leaving them behind!

"The call came from this cave, I think." He heard a voice coming from the outside.

"It sounded more like a sheep giving birth than a dragon." Another voice, a female one in a rather masculine tone.

"We have to be careful, guys." He heard a third voice, this time it made him feel calm. "He must be scared after waking up in a strange place, surrounded by complete strangers."

"It's still a Skrill, Hiccup! Remember the Book of Dragons? That thing pushed Stormfly aside with a single swipe!"

"Not to mention he electrified the fence!"

"All we need is to make him see we mean no harm. Then we should be able to tame him."

"Be careful in there, Hiccup."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Let's go, bud."

Skrill cackled with stored lighting when he saw a human, accompanied by the same Night Fury from before, walked into their home, his haven. He hissed, warning them to stay away. The human was holding a torch in his left hand, and was looking around. He was rather skinny for a Viking; no brawns, thin arms and legs –one of them was half-metal. The Night Fury was the first to approach him, but he flared his wings and hissed a second warning.

"Stay away…" he snapped, making the boy step back.

The Night Fury jumped in front of the boy protectively. "Whoa, whoa, there! Calm down! There's no need for violence here!"

Skrill narrowed his eyes. "You come into my cave, you invade my territory, and you have the guts to say there's no need for violence!"

"We just want to help you." The Night Fury said, calmly this time.

"Toothless." The human spoke, taking a look at the cave's interior. "Be careful." The boy had noticed the scattered bones around the cave before realization hit him. "This is his home… This was his family."

"Toothless?" Skrill snarled, his electrified scales glowing bright under the electricity. "What kind of stupid name is that?! Why are you even with that human?!"

"It's a long story." Toothless sighed. "But the point is humans are no longer enemies. He can help you, but you have to trust him."

"Why should I trust him?"

"Because…" Toothless motioned at the bones. "Judging by this, you have no one else to turn to."

Skrill didn't say anything for a while. His eyes were locked on the human; he didn't seem that dangerous, after all. He had no weapons, anything. The boy approached him slowly, trying not to step on any of the bones so he would not infuriate him. "It's okay, pal. I'm not going to hurt you." The boy extended out his hand, but Skrill backed away trying to shield his mate's skeleton from his intruder. The boy seemed to notice. "That was your family, right? Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Skrill was calming down; this boy was no threat at all, but how could he help it? Most of his life humans had been his mortal enemies, and now the Night Fury claimed they were now friendly towards dragons? The boy turned his head away and stretched out his arm; Skrill sniffed it carefully, it had the scent of dragon nip and fish, also that of leather and metal. Yes, maybe this human could be trusted.

Skrill closed his eyes and pressed his nose gently against the boy's hand, the electricity long gone from his scales.

"There, see, bud?" the boy spoke once more, patting Skrill's nose. "There's nothing to be afraid of. How about we take you back to Berk? You must be hungry."

Skrill stepped back, all aggression gone from his body and mind, and rubbed the decayed remains of his mate with his snout sadly. He was unable to stay, but unwilling to leave them behind to turn to dust. Toothless approached him carefully.

"I'm sorry for your loss,…" he grimly said. "You do not want to leave them behind, do you?"

Skrill shook his head. "I can't. They were all I had, even now."

Luckily for them, Hiccup understood.

They were back in Berk a few hours later, carrying piles of bones. The Skrill's long gone family.

Skrill dug a hole away from the village, away from the terrified eyes of people. He placed every piece of his family's remains in the hole before covering it up once more. He refused any help from the other dragons; this was something he had to do by himself. They did come after he was done, to pay their respects. The Monstrous Nightmare named Hookfang, Stormfly the Deadly Nadder, Meatlug the Gronckle, Barf and Belch the Hideous Zippleback, and Toothless. The humans understood he wanted none of their kind there for now. The moonlight bathed the six dragons in a radiance of relative calm, almost contradicting the air of sadness and mourning.

"Dear brothers," Toothless finally spoke. "We have gathered here today in this night of full moon to give our last goodbyes to an unfortunate family. It is sad that they left us, but even more sad that the younglings lived no longer than a few months of their lives. We even know the reason of their passing, and that makes it even more hurtful for those who knew them." He glanced at Skrill for a few moments before continuing. "But their memory will always live on, and they are now flying in the blue, clear skies of Paradise. And now, let us sing the Song of Parting of the Berk Dragons."

The night echoed with the dragons' sorrowful roars, but the Skrill's cried had no comparison that night.

The following day, Skrill was overwhelmed by the humans. A large boy named Fishlegs, Meatlug's human, kept sketching him in the thing he called Book of Dragons, a collection of pages with information about every dragon kind. Hiccup was thinking on naming him, but was comically struggling to see if he was a 'boy or girl'. Stormfly's human, a blonde whose name was Astrid, radiated an aura of authority that made Skrill shudder internally. There was not much he could say about Hookfang and Barf and Belch's humans; with one stare he could say they were not precisely 'bright'.

One of those days They took him outside the Academy, to a small field with no trees. There, Toothless handed Skrill a large branch to try and draw with, and he ended up accidentally shocking Snotlout (he did not regret it in the least, however.) Hiccup and Astrid got him to eat a piece of sheep meat from them, but he still felt uncomfortable and awkward. He felt like a hatchling being nursed by its mother.

The humans made new discoveries of his species as well. Fishlegs discovered that stepping on a Skrill's tail caused it to instinctively electrify its victim, while Hiccup discovered that they were liked being scratched in the belly, like a dog.

When Hiccup finally decided on naming him, it was a headache. Skrill wasn't usually picky with such things, but being named by a human was even more awkward than being taken care of by them.

Hiccup was tapping his chin, studying Skrill carefully. "How about… Storm? No… what about… Thunder? Or maybe Lightingbolt?" He glanced over at Toothless, one eyebrow raised. "What do you think?"

Toothless blinked, then smiled.

Skrill, however, had a face which could be read as 'Not a chance in Helheim."

"I got one!" Snotlout raised his hand. "How about Feather-brain?"

Skrill snapped at the teen, making him step back in fear he would get another electrification. Satisfied, Skrill went back to his corner.

"Maelstrom?" Astrid suggested

"Killer!" Tuffnut added

Ruffnut was next. "Spike!"

Skrill rolled his eyes. What was he, a dog?

"Goblin!"

All eyes, including Skrill's, were set on Fishlegs. "Goblin?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

Fishlegs nodded. "You know, like those mischievous creatures Trader Johan says he has witnessed in one of his travels."

Skrill snorted. It was not that bad. The other dragons noticed this.

"Seriously?" Hookfang inquired. "You like that name?"

Skrill nodded. "Not too dumb, nor too cool. Just a name."

"Actually, I must agree with that." Meatlug purred.

Stormfly tilted her head. "Don't you think it's silly?"

"Sillier than Toothless? Nah."

Toothless blushed at the comment.

"Well, I guess It's settled." Hiccup finally announced, approaching the Skrill and placing a hand upon his snout. "Pal, your name shall be… Goblin."

Skrill… No, Goblin, purred in agreement.